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“The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading old ones.”  Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)

Welcome to Histories of the Unexpected where you will discover the history of things that you did not know had a history; like the history of zebras, or the history of rubbish.

In this episode let us join the wordsmith of women’s history, Professor James Daybell, and the chronicler of the past, Dr Sam Willis, as they show you that you can’t always judge a book by its cover in this unexpected history of the book.

So, let us take a page out of their (many) books as James and Sam uncover just what can be found in books. From the passionate annotations of the Elizabethan scholar Gabriel Harvey to the scornful letter written by a mysterious figure, from family history to how people used Genevan Bibles and the drawings found in medieval manuscripts, James and Sam reveal how you should be reading your books.

Join our literary two as they discover that this unexpected history is actually all about; privacy and communication, blotting and sanitation, hate and love, inheritance and making a mark in history, this is one for the history books!